1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to writing instruments having extensible quantities of paper or the like stored therein, and more particularly, to a combination writing instrument and information storage apparatus.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The prior art bounds with writing apparatuses designed to retain and selectively extend a quantity of paper or the like. Unfortunately, the extension of the paper or the like affects the writing ability of these apparatuses. Also, they are complex in design, expensive to manufacture, and frequently, the paper dispensing mechanism severly limits the quantity of ink, or the like retained within the instrument.
U.S. Pat. No. 640,543 issued to F. W. Donning on Jan. 2, 1900 disclosed a combined paper holder and pencil which includes a roll of paper disposed around and supported by a mandrel disposed within a housing. As the mandrel is rotated by a plug handle fixedly secured on one end thereof, the pencil point tube adjacent to the mandrel is subject to unwanted rotation. This severely affects the reliability of the writing instrument.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,224,470 issued to W. H. Boust on Dec. 10, 1940 teaches a memorandum pencil having a roll of paper disposed around a rotatable shaft within a tubular casing. As the shaft is rotated the paper is dispensed. In the primary embodiment of this invention the size of the pencil element thereof is severely limited. In the secondary embodiment the pencil mechanism rotates as the paper is dispensed.
The present invention overcomes the problems associated with the prior art by providing a combination writing instrument and information storage apparatus which dispenses and retracts a flexible sheet without impeding the size of the writing instrument portion or the writing ability thereof.